He could still smell the scent of her on his skin when he woke, and he couldn't help but think about what it would be like to wake up with her in his arms every morning. He had slept well, as if a burden had been lifted from him. But now he was awake and filled with restless energy. She was here, his kids would be arriving in a few hours, and it was as if his body couldn't contain all of the happiness he felt. He got out of bed quietly, not wanting to wake Eli, and got dressed to go for a run.
She awoke to sunshine streaming through the window and Noah softly snoring beside her. Rolling over, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. She had gotten about four hours of sleep. Even after returning to their separate rooms, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She would happily have laid there in his arms all night, but she knew she needed to be next to her son when he woke up. Going back to sleep now was out of the question. She listened for movement in the rest of the house but heard none. If Eli and Elliot were anything like Noah, they would be hungry when they woke up. Throwing on some shorts and a tank top, she decided to head into the kitchen to make breakfast for the four of them.
Searching through the refrigerator, she found bacon, eggs, and milk. She had also seen some pancake mix the day before when she was prepping the mashed potatoes. She put the bacon on a sheet pan and slid it into the oven. As she was stirring the pancake batter, she heard footsteps on the stairs. Eli was making his way down to the kitchen. His hair was wild and he was still in his pajama bottoms, but he had a big smile on his face. "Do I smell bacon?" he asked groggily. "You do," she smiled back at him. "And you're about to smell pancakes, too. Are you hungry?" "Always," he laughed. "Give me ten minutes and I'll have it all ready," she said.
He sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen and watched as she poured the pancakes onto the griddle. "Do you need any help?" he asked. "I think I've got it…," she started, "...unless you want to crack some eggs into this bowl? I was thinking scrambled if that's ok?" Eli stood and took the bowl from her hand. "Scrambled eggs are my favorite," he replied.
They worked quietly, her flipping the pancakes and him cracking the eggs. "You know, you didn't have to do this...get up and make breakfast for all of us," he said. "I know. But I couldn't get back to sleep, and I figured if you and your father were anything like Noah, you'd be starving as soon as your feet hit the floor." She could feel the wheels in his mind turning. He had the same expression that Elliot had when he was mulling over something. Whatever it was though, he let it be, turning instead to hand her the bowl of eggs. "I think dad went on a run. I noticed his shoes were gone, but he should be back soon. Do you want me to wake Noah up?" "Sure, thank you," she smiled at him gently.
Sliding the last pancake onto the plate and taking the bacon out of the oven, she began whisking the eggs. She had just poured the contents of the bowl into the pan when the boys emerged from the bedroom. "It smells amazing in here, Mom!" Noah exclaimed. "Good, because I think I've made enough food to feed an army. Eli, would you care to grab four plates? And Noah, please get each of us a fork and a glass." The boys got to work setting the table as she finished up the eggs.
Elliot ran up to the deck and his nose was immediately met with the smell of breakfast. Sliding the door open, he saw Noah and Eli waiting patiently at the table as Liv scooped scrambled eggs into a large bowl. Looking up, she grinned at him before asking, "How was your run?" "Good," he replied. "I thought we might want some juice so I ran into town. Liv, you didn't have to do all of this." She brought the eggs and bacon to the table while he grabbed the platter of pancakes. "Your son said the same thing," she told him.
All four of them were seated at the table passing plates and bowls and eating their fill. When they couldn't eat another bite, she started to clear the table. "Nope," Elliot protested. "You made breakfast, so the boys and I will clean up. Go relax...we've got this."
When all the dishes were washed and dried, the boys ran to get their swim trunks on and once again were off to the water. Elliot snuck upstairs for a quick shower before joining her on the deck. She was laying on the swing reading a book, soaking up the sun and looking more relaxed than he had ever seen her. "Hey," he said, sitting next to her. "Hey," she replied, closing her book and turning to face him.
He scooted back farther on the swing and she laid her head in his lap. He brushed the hair out of her face and smiled down at her.
"Any regrets?" He asked softly.
"None," she said without hesitation. "You?"
"Other than the fact that I didn't get to hold you for the rest of the night? No."
"Next time," she said. The idea of a next time...the idea of an infinite number of nights spent with her gave him an overwhelming sense of joy. "Next time," he repeated, leaning down to kiss her lips.
"The rest of the crew will be here between 11 and 11:30. I thought we could head into town for lunch at that little seafood place we saw on the drive in, and then for dinner I'll fire up the grill again. What do you think?" He was so eager for today to go well, especially after yesterday. His older children had been supportive, especially Kathleen, but he also knew this wasn't easy for them. "Sounds like a plan," she said, though she was thinking the same thing. She had always loved his children, but this was a delicate situation. As much as she wanted to develop an even closer relationship with each of them, she knew she couldn't push. Their mother was gone, and she could never replace her. All she could hope was for them to find a place in their hearts to accept her.
Maureen and Carl arrived right at 11:00. Maureen greeted her dad and Olivia with a big hug while her husband grabbed the overnight bags. Elliot led his son-in-law upstairs while Mo and Liv caught up. "How was the drive up?" Olivia asked, thankful for a topic to break the ice. "Good," his oldest daughter replied. "Traffic out of the city was a nightmare, but once we reached some open road it went pretty quickly. Where are the boys?" Liv laughed, pointing out to the lake. "I'm not sure how they don't both look like raisins at this point. They swam all day yesterday and jumped in first thing after breakfast this morning." As Elliot and Carl were joining them outside, Elizabeth's car pulled into the driveway. Kathleen had ridden with her, and both hopped out excitedly. They ran to Mo first, taking turns with hugs. Elizabeth reached for her father, while Kathleen walked over to Olivia. "I'm really glad you decided to come, Liv," she said as she hugged her. "I'm glad I did, too. And I'm glad you all could join us." Liv offered to show the girls the upstairs rooms, leaving Elliot to catch up with Mo and Carl. By the time Dickie got there at 11:45, Eli and Noah had come in and changed and everyone was ready for lunch.
The seafood place was about a three mile drive into town. During his run Elliot had stopped and reserved a table for them, figuring 9 people might be hard to accommodate at a moment's notice. "This place is cool, Dad. How did you find it?" Elizabeth asked. "We saw it on the drive in," he replied. "Thought it looked like a good place to try out." "So...the four of you drove up together?" Dickie asked. He had been quiet since he arrived, and Elliot was a little concerned about what he might say. His oldest son has inherited his temper, and though he cared about Olivia, he wasn't thrilled with the two of them dating. "Yes, we drove up together," he answered in a tone that told Dickie not to push it.
"What looks good, Noah? Do you like fish? Shrimp?" Kathleen asked, attempting to diffuse some of the tension. "I'm not picky. It all looks good. What are you going to get?" "Fish and chips. Can't go wrong with the classics," she smiled. When it came time to order, they went around the table. When the waitress got to Noah, he ordered the fish and chips, shooting a smile in Kathleen's direction as he did so.
The food was amazing, and they enjoyed catching up with one another. Olivia was grateful that, regardless of everything else, they were all extremely polite and welcoming to Noah. And he seemed to enjoy having so many people to talk to. For so long it had been just the two of them, but seeing him here surrounded by these siblings gave her mixed feelings. On one hand, she was so glad that he suddenly had all these new people who cared about him. On the other, she felt guilty that he had spent so many years without this. Looking across the table at Elliot, she realized that she too had spent so many years without this.
He watched Mo and Kathleen talking with Liv, and it made his heart happy to know they were trying so hard to make her feel welcome. He knew it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy for him either. As much as he loved Olivia, seeing his daughters always made him think of Kathy. Elizabeth was telling him all about a promotion at work, and Noah and Eli were planning out their afternoon. Dickie sat quietly, listening to the conversations around him. When they had finished, Elliot paid and they all headed back to the lake house.
The afternoon was spent on the water. They took a boat out and did some skiing, which the younger boys in particular loved. Afterwards they returned to the house, where the boys decided to strike up a game of soccer as the girls laid out on the deck chairs. They were soaking up the sun and enjoying watching the guys play, but the tension was building on the field. Elliot noticed the fire in Dickie's eyes. He knew that look because he'd seen it before too many times in the mirror.
He had just scored a goal and shot a smile at Liv when his son came up and checked him with his shoulder. "Gotta show off for her, right Dad? Not much point though...we both know you've been showing off for her for years." That was it. Dickie knew exactly which button to push. Looking his son square in the eye, he whispered, "In the house. NOW." Once inside, Elliot approached his son, stopping just inches from him. Calmly but firmly, he looked into Dickie's eyes, "I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me, too. But we've been through this. I loved your mother, and I was always, always faithful to her. Now, you can choose to believe me or not, and you can be mad at me for as long as you need to be, but you will not disrespect her. Not after everything she has done for this family. Do you understand me?" Dickie stared back at him, and the fire he had seen before started to fade. "I understand. It was out of line and I'm sorry. This is just hard." Elliot sighed, wrapping his arms around his son. "I know. I know it is. But it's hard for her, too."
Resting his arm around Dickie's shoulders, the two men returned to the game as the girls were gathering up their towels and heading inside. "We are going to go in and start getting things ready for dinner," she said as she passed by him. "Is everything ok?" She asked, glancing at Dickie. She had seen the tension boiling all morning but wasn't sure what was going on. "Yeah, it's ok. We're good," he smiled. Trusting that he would tell her if something was wrong, she headed into the house.
Inside the girls chatted about job promotions, men, some TV show they were all addicted to, men, vacation plans, and men. She smiled to herself just listening to them. She had known them all since they were young, and now they were grown women chatting with her about their lives and relationships.
The guys emerged from outside sweaty and eager to man the grill. They even included Noah and Eli in their pow wow. Looking through the sliding door at the five of them gathered around the flame, she couldn't help but laugh. "They look like cavemen who just discovered fire," Kathleen said. "Remind me what we see in them again?"
Tonight's menu was hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixings. As the guys started plating, the ladies set the table and began carrying the sides out to the deck. Chips and dip, macaroni and potato salad, an enormous bowl of salad...all the ingredients for a perfect summer cookout. This meal was much more relaxed than lunch had been, and it was nice to listen to everyone talking and laughing as the sun set over the water. Afterwards, Elliot collected marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate from the kitchen and headed to the firepit on the shoreline. S'mores were a family tradition at any Stabler cookout so his kids all followed immediately. Liv and Noah trailed behind, watching him lead his pack toward the water.
Everyone grabbed a stick and speared a marshmallow on the end. She helped Elliot unwrap the graham crackers and chocolate, getting them ready for the others. One by one, each put their marshmallows, all various shades of brown, onto the waiting cracker. They were all busy shoving the warm, gooey snack into their mouths when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, Dickie was behind her holding out a s'more with a smile. "I made you one," he said simply. "Thank you," she smiled.
Glancing over at Elliot, she saw him look at his son with a pride in his eyes reserved only for his kids. Whatever had happened earlier had something to do with her, and she couldn't help but feel guilty. But then he looked at her, and his face lit up with a wide grin. He was happy, and that made her happy. Whatever else came their way, she knew they would figure it out together.
All nine of them.